Louis Van Gaal's Manchester United Makeover Backed by Sir Alex Ferguson

Sir Alex Ferguson believes Louis van Gaal is "doing the right thing" by significantly changing the Manchester United squad.

The newly installed Dutch manager let 14 players depart and brought in six replacements during the summer. While many of the departing individuals were signed by Ferguson, the retired Scot believes Van Gaal is going about his United tenure in the right manner, reported by Mark Ogden of The Telegraph:

"

Louis van Gaal has made a lot of changes and, thinking about that, actually maybe he’s doing the right thing, to clear the decks and build his own team. Because he’s got the experience and coaching ability to do that. The way he’s approached it I think has been brilliant.

"

Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

Van Gaal has already made a number of major decisions. He brought in Angel Di Maria for a British record transfer fee and took a chance by signing Radamel Falcao on a loan deal. He is perhaps taking an even bigger chance by reportedly confirming a permanent fee for the Colombian, who has suffered severe injury problems of late, per Alex Richards of the Mirror.

Players such as Shinji Kagawa, Patrice Evra and Tom Cleverley have been forced away from the club. Van Gaal has placed an emphasis both on developing youth—seen through the use of players such as Tyler Blackett, Paddy McNair and James Wilson—while also securing proven quality who can progress United right now.

As Sam Pilger wrote in his column for B/R UK, "Louis van Gaal is promoting youth at Old Trafford in a manner that so far outstrips even Sir Alex Ferguson. In his first seven weeks, Van Gaal has already given first-team debuts to seven players from United’s youth ranks." 

Michael Regan/Getty Images

Results have been sporadic, but there's a sense that if Van Gaal can secure a quality centre-back and defensive midfielder in January, United will be ready to maintain a challenge for that all-important Champions League spot.

The manager's tactical choices have also ushered in major change. Van Gaal started the campaign in a 3-5-2 formation and has switched to a transitional 4-3-1-2 through necessity, as his squad continues to be plagued with injuries, per BBC Sport. Both are distinguishable from Ferguson's attacking use of wingers and David Moyes' workmanlike approach to combating opponents.

Van Gaal isn't afraid to ruffle feathers when making his impact, either. He is said to have gotten rid of the creche in which players' children stay at the stadium, reportedly turning it into a medical bay, while he is also said to have ditched the "legendary lounge," per The Sun and via Eurosport.

Tony Ding/Associated Press

"The new regime is all about getting results and doing away with distractions," said an Old Trafford source, per the aforementioned report.

United's defence remains the obvious weakness, but a tendency to die off in games has also harmed their haul of points. The side established 2-0 and 3-1 leads against Leicester before falling to four second-half goals, an occurrence that nearly repeated itself in the following match with West Ham.

David De Gea's heroics were the only difference between United beating Everton 2-1 and losing 4-2. The team possess an entertaining consistency of never doing things easily, making them unbearable to watch for supporters. Neutrals, of course, will be loving every second.

Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images

Vitally, two consecutive wins have pushed United to fourth. A busy schedule is on the horizon—as clashes with Chelsea, Manchester City and Arsenal await before the end of November—so it's important to have a base of points on the board. United have by no means exerted confidence, winning just three of seven Premier League matches, but at least there's signs of improvement.

Just switching to an attacking emphasis makes Van Gaal's team more effective than the timid line-up Moyes regularly deployed. United are sure to drop further points and will no doubt be pushed down the table before Christmas, but Van Gaal has at least succeeded in making supporters feel there is an overarching objective in place.

Being able to pull this off defined Ferguson's United career. He suffered a difficult start and was nearly sacked in 1990, but his never-say-die philosophy eventually thrust United to becoming the standard-bearer of English football. Van Gaal faces an uphill challenge to repeat this, but comfort should be taken from his ability to immediately establish his own style, strategy and methods of business at the Theatre of Dreams.